Community Engagement Specialist, Outreach

The Center for Court Innovation is a non-profit organization that works to create a more effective and humane justice system by performing original research and helping launch reforms by guiding justice innovators, nationally and internationally. The Center creates operating projects that have been documented to reduce the use of jail and prison, assist victims of crime, and strengthen communities. 

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives (BJI) seeks to reengineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences. Operating out of Kings County Criminal Court, Brooklyn Justice Initiatives is a team of social service providers, court-based resource coordinators, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice. By providing meaningful pre-trial supervised release and post-conviction sentencing options, Brooklyn Justice Initiatives seeks to use an arrest as a window of opportunity to change the direction of a participant’s life and avoid the harmful effects of incarceration.   

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives is one of three Center for Court Innovation sites that operates the Supervised Release Program. Supervised Release offers an alternative to jail, providing pretrial supervision, case management, and voluntary social services to people charged with bail-eligible felony and misdemeanor charges, including violent felony arrests. Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates, and they receive referrals to community-based programming such as job training, drug treatment, and mental health counseling. As a result of recent legislative changes in New York State that curtailed the use of cash bail and pre-trial detention, the Center has experienced dramatic growth in the population served through Supervised Release, offering staff the opportunity to contribute to an exciting program at an unprecedented scale.  

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives is seeking Community Engagement Specialists. The Community Engagement Specialist will work as part of a collaborative team utilizing a strengths-based and community-based model to engage individuals mandated to pretrial services in Brooklyn. The Community Engagement Specialist will be responsible for conducting outreach to disengaged clients, engaging clients within their communities, helping clients navigate court dates and appointments with community-based services, and conducting home visits as needed. 

The Center for Court Innovation strongly encourages and seeks applications from women, people of color, LGBTQI community members, as well as individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Conduct phone, social media, email and post mail outreach to reengage inactive participants within the Supervised Release Program on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis; 
• Coordinate with community-based service providers to facilitate, follow-up, and assist participants with voluntary service referrals; assist clients in obtaining access to resources, benefits, and housing; 
• Collaborate with case management staff on client engagement planning;  
• Provide crisis intervention and support to program participants, as needed; 
• Facilitate a range of psychoeducational and skills development groups, along with other forms of interventions and engagement; 
• Provide one-on-one mentoring to individuals, when needed, in various community-based offices, homes, public spaces and other locations; 
• Complete all necessary documentation and input data into computer database; assist with data collection; 
• Engage with the community, including attending evening and weekend community events, conducting outreach, and supporting borough-based initiatives; 
• Assist the Community Engagement team in the creation of one-pagers and other public information materials to keep the community informed of the project’s mission and community-based initiatives; 
• Engage with participants' family and other close connections; provide supportive services and referrals for participants’ families, as needed; 
• Support delivery of care packages which includes the operation of delivery vehicle;  organization of supplies, route planning, and delivery confirmation calls; 
• Attend staff meetings and trainings/certification programs; 
• Perform other relevant tasks, as needed. 

 Qualifications: 

• The ideal candidate will have a high school diploma, or its equivalent, plus two years of relevant experience including, but not limited to, community outreach or small group facilitation, preferably with court-involved populations; 
• Lived experience with the justice system and/or interactions with other systems (i.e. housing, foster care, etc.) and an understanding of how to navigate them strongly preferred; 
• Candidate must be a skilled communicator, both verbal and written, able to work in a multi-disciplinary setting, and able to maintain strong relationships with organizations, both on-site and in the community; 
• A self-starter who can successfully be part of a diverse team; 
• Maturity, reliability, excellent judgment and sensitivity to working with people in a culturally-responsive manner required; 
• Knowledge of community-based resources throughout New York City; in particular Brooklyn; 
• Experience and commitment to creating, promoting, and maintaining a respectful, inclusive, and anti-racist work environment required; 
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred; 
• Valid driver’s license in good standing; 
• Interest or skill in graphic/flyer design.

Position Type: Full-time; must be able to work nights or weekends, as needed.  

Compensation: Salary range starts at $41,040 and is commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits package including comprehensive health, dental and life insurance, four weeks paid vacation, paid sick time, WageWorks, Flexible Spending Account plans for health and dependent care, a 403(b) retirement plan and a 401(k) retirement plan with a generous employer match.

The Fund for the City of New York/Center for Court Innovation is an equal opportunity employer. The Center does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other category protected by law. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities as well as individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system.

As of September 9, 2021, all new hires are required to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, unless they have been granted a reasonable accommodation for medical, disability or religious reasons by the Center’s Human Resources Department.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete an employment eligibility verification document form upon hire. Only applicants under consideration will be contacted. No phone calls please.

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